UK GDP rose more than forecast in December

According to the report from Office for National Statistics, growth in both services and construction was offset by a fall in production, which resulted in 0.0% GDP growth in the three months to December 2019. The services and construction sectors contributed positively to gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the three months to December 2019, growing by 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, the production sector fell by 0.8% in the same period, its eighth consecutive rolling three-month decline.

GDP grew by 1.4% in 2019, compared with 1.3% in 2018. Breaking this down by sector, services grew by 1.8%, production fell by 1.3% and construction grew by 2.5%.

Monthly gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.3% in December 2019, driven by growth in services. This followed a fall of 0.3% in November 2019. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase.

Commenting on today's GDP figures, Head of GDP Rob Kent-Smith:

"There was no growth in the last quarter of 2019 as increases in the services and construction sectors were offset by another poor showing from manufacturing, particularly the motor industry. The underlying trade deficit widened, as exports of services fell, partially offset by a fall in goods imports."